Drug and Addiction Programs Help Reduce Incarceration – Ron Berg, Director of MECCA Services in Iowa City

In the video below, Ron Berg, the Director of MECCA Services, discusses the benefits of drug and addiction programs to help reduce incarceration.

“We don’t think incarcerating and charging people with legal offenses is necessarily helpful when you’re looking at their drug use. We ought to be getting people into treatment. In terms of being cutting edge, to my knowledge, Johnson County is the only county in the state that has any program similar to this that is trying to divert people away from the criminal justice system into treatment to get it off their record so it’s not effecting them for long-term.” ~ Ron Berg, Director of MECCA Services, Iowa City

Jail Alternatives. In the video above, Ron refers to jail alternative programs that have been adopted and are currently in use for Johnson County. These include:

1. Mental health screening and diversion
2. Weekly review of inmates to identify who can be released/case expediting
3. Substance Abuse Evaluations and Treatment
4. Drug Treatment Court
5. Marijuana Diversion Program
6. Releasing Inmates Prior to Initial Appearance
7. Discretionary Reward/Incentive Program for Inmates
8. Driving Under Suspension Court
9. Expedited Filing of the Report of Violation for Probation Violations
10. Electronic Home Arrest/Work Release